Friday, April 16, 2010

The third feverishly expected volume of author Haruki Murakami's hit "1Q84" is released on Friday. Books 1 and 2, released together in May last year, sold nearly 2.5 million copies in Japanese.

"Shinchosha Publishing Co. printed 200,000 copies of Book 1 and 180,000 of Book 2 when the novel first went on sale, not nearly enough to cover the flood of orders that greeted the books' release, and many bookshops went quickly out of stock. In anticipation of a similarly enthusiastic response, Book 3 will have an initial run of 500,000 copies. 25,000 pre-orders already logged with Internet bookseller Amazon as of April 8, even 500,000 looks to be too few, and Shinchosha has already made plans for another 200,000-copy run."

"In these tough times for publishing, bookshops, too, rush to stock the hot sellers," says Yoshiaki Kiyota, president of Shuppan News Co., a publishing news outlet. "Reader expectation is high, and it's turned into a hungry market. This is happy news for the publishing industry," he continued, adding "1Q84 Book 3" is certain to become a runaway best seller." (Mainichi shimbun quotes)

"The title is a play on the Japanese pronunciation of the year 1984, writes anonymous author on the wikipedia page about the Japan's insider writer. The letter Q and the Japanese number 9 (typically romanized as "kyū," but as "kew" on the book's Japanese cover, shown at right) are homophones, which are often used in Japanese wordplay. This is a reference to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Before the book's release, one theory about the title's meaning suggested that it could be a reference to The True Story of Ah Q, a novella by Lu Xun, whose works are said to have influenced Murakami. The plot of the book makes clear, however, that the title is an allusion to Orwell's classic novel. One of the characters uses 1Q84 as the name of the parallel world into which she believes she has stumbled, noting that the Q stands for "question mark." One review described 1Q84 as a "complex and surreal narrative" which "shifts back and forth between tales of two characters, a man and a woman, who are searching for each other." It tackles themes of murder, history, cult religion, violence, family ties and love."

Why Murakami's best-selling '1Q84' is worth the wait, the Japan Times wrote July 2009

"In "1Q84," the borders of Murakami's world and our own become less clear: Strangeness starts to seem familiar and the familiar starts to seem strange. This uncanniness leaves a lot of puzzles open for interpretation, yet vivid detail and sharp wit tether readers to "1Q84" as it reorients us to the violent circularity of 20th-century history. Murakami's fiction has grown increasingly relevant to our understanding of the world today, and this time his craft is more refined than ever."

Sunday, April 11, 2010

* Update 1: April 12 Monday 08:30 am. Some 21 people were killed and 858 others injured in violent clashes between soldiers and redshirt demonstrators on Saturday night, a government medical service centre said.

** Update 2: Following events from Thailand with TAN Network and the viewers posts

A look at the press statements following the events of Bangkok Khok Wua battlefield, in agencies, blogs, and with the reports of the NATION newspaper.

"The Red Shirts urge the resignation of the Prime Minister Vejjajiva"

Sean Boonpracong, int'l spokesman of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship

After days of nonviolent protests which included spilling buckets (more than 3 liters) of human blood in front of government buildings, shaving heads, and peacefully chasing away soldiers at security point and humiliating Thailand’s prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva by showing the Thai government’s quietness, “Red Shirt” protesters faced the Thai military in full black-matte riot gear. But the violence last night infuriated both parties.

Thailand worst political violence since the Bangkok Black May 1992 after clashes between the Thai army and anti-government demonstrators that left 19 people dead and over 850 injured at this hour Sunday midday, 28 soldiers prisoners of the rd Shirt. Civilians, including a Japanese TV cameraman, and five soldiers were killed in Saturday's crackdown on "Red Shirt" supporters of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Violence erupted when troops tried to clear one of two sites in central Bangkok, near ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs, the Democracy Monument, also near the Grand Palace and the Wat Phra Keo, occupied by the protesters for the past month. Soldiers fired in the air and used tear gas, and the Reds responded by hurling rocks. Same violence seen in the 1992 violent demonstrations held on Sanam Luang at the Royal Hotel where the army shot at demonstrators in the hotel, bullets impacts proving the violence of the clashes.

Yesterday in Bangkok at one stage protesters overwhelmed and captured an armored personnel carrier. The army later retreated, calling for a truce with the demonstrators, who were holding five soldiers hostage. Thousands of protesters remained on the streets at the two protest sites on Sunday.

Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said an investigation had been launched into the violence and that negotiations were under way to bring about a resolution to the stand-off without further unrest. "The prime minister's secretary is coordinating with protest leaders to solve the situation and would like protesters to stay put," he said.

Our Tokyo colleague of Thomson Reuters news agency, Japanese cameraman Hiro Muramoto, died after being shot in the chest during the protests. Hiro Muramoto, a Tokyo-based Japanese national who worked as a cameraman for Reuters for more than 15 years had been covering fighting between troops and protesters in the Rajdumnoen Road area in Bangkok where he was shot dead. Reuters said in a communique to the Japan based Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan Freedom of the Press Committee. The news agency asks that the press show respect for Muramoto-san's family at this time of mourning. We knew Hiro and respected his quiet strength, his great professionalism and his genuine kindness, we are truly saddened here by his tragic end and address our heartfelt condolences to his family.

It was Thailand's worst political violence since "the Black May 1992". The 17–20 May 1992 popular protest in Bangkok against the government of General Suchinda Kraprayoon and the bloody military crackdown that followed. Up to 200,000 people demonstrated in central Bangkok at the height of the protests. The military crackdown resulted in 52 officially confirmed deaths, many disappearances, hundreds of injuries, and over 3,500 arrests. Many of those arrested allegedly were tortured.

The mostly poor, rural Reds say the government is illegitimate as it came to power with military backing in 2008 after a court ousted Thaksin's allies from power. Red Shirt protesters called on the country's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej to intervene to prevent further bloodshed.

"Did anybody inform the king that his children were killed in the middle of the road without justice?" Reds' leader Jatuporn Prompan asked protesters. "Is there anyone close to him who told him of the gunfights?" Although he has no official political role, the hospitalized king is seen as a unifying figure. And during a 1992 uprising he chastised both the military and protest leaders, effectively bringing the violence to an end.

✍✍✍ Sources in Bangkok quoted officials voicing reports on TVs about people being killed as the result of "traffic accident", not as the result of direct bullet or rubber bullets shots. Unconvincing statements according to the sources.